Style Guide for Writing in ScienceandReminder about Miscellaneous Mechanicsactive/passive APA and this class prefer primarily active voice.Use Boyko’s algorithm to tell which is which, and be able to produce whichever you’re asked to.affect/effect Verb to affect means to influence.Noun effect means the result of some cause or influence.Verb to effect (old-fashioned) means to cause.Noun affect means detectable emotional state.although An example of English in evolution: We’re starting to talk with a grammatically incorrect usage (I bet it’ll become correct within our lifetimes). But in written or formal language it’s still grammatically incorrect. In correct usage,“ although” can’t introduce a complete sentence like “on the other hand.” “Although” is like “because,” in that its dependent clause must be connected to an independent one. (correct: I’m going skiing this weekend, although it’s supposed to be bitter cold.)anthropo- Leads to lack of clarity.morphizing Only people can hypothesize, measure, conclude, infer, etc.; studies and experiments can’t.body’s possessive of bodycasual/causal Beware of this typo, which spell-check won’t catchcitations in text See APA rulescomma splice Grammatical error of putting a comma where you need a period or semicolon at the end of an independent clause.comparisons Structure both halves as identically as possible.dangler A grammatical rule, mostly with -ing forms of verbs (comparing): needs tohave the doer of the action expressed in the sentence, usually as the subject.Wrong: In comparing the exercise groups, depression scores were found to be comparable.Correct: In comparing the exercise groups, we found depression scores to be comparable.Boyko, fall 2006, page 1data People argue about whether data must be treated as a plural or whether it’sok to see it as a singular. Using plural is the classic old-fashioned rule. More modern is the singular, which means treating the word "data" like theword "information." I think personally it makes sense but you open yourself up to criticism from some who prefer the old way. The one crucialdecision, though, is to choose one and use it consistently.Examples: After 25 weeks the low-intensity group’s tension/anxiety data does/do leveloff.The data from all exercise groups is/are comparable.This study yielded so much/so many data that it’s/they’re hard to interpret.e.g., Takes 2 periods and a comma after (depending on the sentence, sometimes also a comma before). Means “for example.” To avoid confusing with “i.e., “ use the English.et al. “et” is a whole word meaning “and”; “al.” is an abbreviation for “alii,” meaning “others.” “al.” needs a period and has to stand for at least 2 others besides the first author. In APA style it’s in regular type, not italic. Don’t use a comma before: Smith et al. is grammatically the same as Smithand others.experiment See anthropomorphizing.gerund/ A grammatical rule.possessive Correct examples: I’m impressed by your sailing around the world alone.Endorphin release can result in a person’s feeling less fatigued.high-intensity Must have a hyphen when this phrase modifies another noun (high-intensityregimen). Must not have a hyphen when it does not modify anything (exercise at high intensity). See also low- and medium-.; however, Since “however” introduces an independent clause that could stand alone as a sentence, it needs a full stop before it.i.e., Takes 2 periods and a comma after (depending on the sentence, sometimes also a comma before). Means “that is.” To avoid the confusion with “e.g.,”use the English.imply/infer Information or situations imply some conclusion or significance. People infer meaning from things they observe.Boyko, fall 2006, page 2low-intensity Must have a hyphen when this phrase modifies another noun (low-intensity regimen). Must not have a hyphen when it does not modify anything (exercise at low intensity). See also medium- and high-.medium-intensity Must have a hyphen when this phrase modifies another noun (medium-intensity regimen). Must not have a hyphen when it does not modify anything (exercise at medium intensity). Same applies to moderate-intensity. See also low- and high-.numbers In scientific writing use words for whole numbers through nine and figures beginning with 10. Write fractions as figures even if they are less than 10 (for example, 2.5). Always use figures for measurements with abbreviated units (a 5 km race) and with name-like designators (week 4 of the study). Always space between the number and the unit.pre-/post- These are not whole words, so cannot stand alone. Hyphenate with the word “exercise” (e.g., post-exercise). Join to most other words without a hyphen (e.g., preschool).references See APA rules.regime, regimen Words for an exercise dose or practice. (For a chuckle look up “regiment” in the dictionary.)run-on Grammatical mistake of using no punctuation between sentences.slash Do not use in text as a shorthand for the full version in words.study See anthropomorphizing.than/then To compare things, use “than” (smaller than).To tell what happens next, use “then.”The mnemonic: compAre = thAn, nExt = thEnthat See which/who/etc.there In independent clauses beginning with “there,” the number of the verb is determined by the subject. (There was a reason why we designed the studythis way. There were many limitations of this design.); therefore, Since “therefore” introduces an independent clause that could stand alone as a sentence, it needs a full stop before it.trail vs. trial Watch out for this common typoverb tenses Use past tense (showed and passed) for a study that’s over and that you’re reporting results from (in this study, the scores on the POMS subscale for Boyko, fall 2006, page 3tension/anxiety decreased in the 12th week of the exercise program). Save present for generally true phenomena (aerobic exercise increases VO2max).which, who, etc. If the clause adds extra information, use commas:Nalexone, which blocks the opiate receptor sites, could be used.If the clause defines the noun it modifies, don’t use commas:The only subjects who dropped out were from group H.workout/ As one word it’s a noun (my workout was hard).work out As two words it’s a verb (I’m going to work out).Boyko, fall 2006, page